Dustin and Rosie take a walk with their Grandma Ann, a Cherokee medicine woman, and gain insight into the Great Mystery. Ages 5-up.
Continue Reading A WALK TO THE GREAT MYSTERY by Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee-Creek) (Dial, 1995) »
Archives: Bibliographies
TWO PAIRS OF SHOES by Esther Sanderson (of the Pas Reserve, living in Winnipeg), illustrated by David Beyer (Cree) (Pemmican, 1998)
For Maggie’s eighth birthday, she receives a pair of black patent shoes from her mother and a pair of moccasins from her Kokum (grandmother), who reminds her there are times and ways to wear each. Ages 3-up. Good for preschool.
TWO MRS. GIBSONS by Toyomi Igus, pictures by Daryl Wells (Children’s Book Press, 1995)
Delightful celebration of a child’s love for the two Mrs. Gibson’s in her life, her Japanese American mother and her African-American grandmother. Ages 3-up.
TOFU AND T. REX by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown, 2005)
Militant vegan Frederika Murchison-Kowalski is back at the Peshtigo School. The bad news is that now Freddie has to live with her cousin, Hans-Peter, a diehard carnivore, and grandfather, who happens to own a butcher shop and sausage deli. Freddie and Hans-Peter are soon at odds with each other over bathroom sharing, dinner menus, and more. To complicate matters, Hans-Peter needs Freddie’s insider knowledge to get accepted into the Peshtigo School himself.
Continue Reading TOFU AND T. REX by Greg Leitich Smith (Little Brown, 2005) »
THE STORY OF THE MILKY WAY, A CHEROKEE TALE by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki) and Gayle Ross (Cherokee) with paintings by Virginia A. Stroud (Cherokee-Creek) (Dial, 1995)
A grandmother in the village of Kate on Kupreanof Island, one of the traditional areas of the Tlingit people, tells stories of their culture to her granddaughter, Marissa, 11, from Seattle. Ages 5-up.
PEACEBOUND TRAINS by Haemi Balgassi, illustrated by Chris Soentpiet (Clarion, 1996)
Sumi misses her mother, who is in the Army, but she still has Harmuny (grandmother). They sit on Sumi’s favorite rock and ‘ at the sound of a train whistle ‘ Harmuny recalls when she and Sumi’s mother escaped war in Seoul, Korea on the roof of a peacebound train. A touching treatment of the effects of war on a family.
MUSKRAT WILL BE SWIMMING by Cheryl Savageau (Abenaki-French Canadian), illustrated by Robert Hynes, featuring a Seneca traditional story retold by Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki)(Northland, 1996)
When a young Native girl is called “Lake Rat,” she is comforted by Grampa who both reveals how he was once called “Frog” because of his French-Indian heritage and shows how those intended insults are signs that the bullies don’t appreciate the joy of the frog and wonder of the lake. Ages 4-up.
MORE MORE MORE SAID THE BABY: 3 LOVE STORIES by Vera B. Williams (Greenwillow, 1990)
A darling child of African heritage is adored as his white Grandma’s “Little Pumpkin.” Also features single-race families. Inclusive in tone and content. A Caldecott Honor Book. Ages 2-up.
MONSOON by Uma Krishnaswami, illustrated by Jamel Akib (Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2003)
Deeply sensory, this book takes readers to Northern India. The details are storytelling, somehow familiar, bringing each moment alive, the ache and eagerness for the rains. Feel the dust, taste the mangoes, play hopscotch, dance in the rain. Akib’s soft, expressive art is a perfect compliment to Krishnaswami’s evocative text. Ages 4-up. HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION.
MEI-MEI LOVES THE MORNING by by Margaret Holloway Tsubakiyama, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu (Whitman, 1999)
Illustrated in beautiful watercolors, this book is a slice-of-life celebration of the loving relationship between Mei-Mei and her grandfather. Ages 4-up.